


Favorite Treasures

by if_one_of_us_falls



Category: Stormlight Archive - Brandon Sanderson
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Book 04: Rhythm of War Spoilers, Character Study
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:47:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28128600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/if_one_of_us_falls/pseuds/if_one_of_us_falls
Summary: THIS WORK CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR RHYTHM OF WAR!Following the events of chapter 70 of RoW, Leshwi decides to save Kaladin from the storm. Now she has to explain to herself why, and Kaladin fights through the gloom and tries to figure out how he became less a war prisoner and more a cherished guest.
Relationships: Kaladin & Leshwi, Venli & Leshwi
Comments: 35
Kudos: 46





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Beware, here be RoW spoilers!  
> This fic started out as a romance idea but then I realized I don't really ship them that much. I prefer it as a friendship-against-the-odds kind of story, but you can read it however you like. Enjoy!

Venli hesitated at an intersection, sensing that something was wrong. Voices echoed back to her across the hallway from the atrium, bouncing on the marbled walls. They hummed to the Rhythm of Destruction. 

Timbre thrummed to Curiosity in Venli's chest, propelling her forward. Before she knew it, she'd crossed the hallway and emerged into the atrium, where she skidded to a stop, attuning Anxiety. Normally this area was well lit thanks to the enormous open balcony, but with the highstorm raging outside, the sphere lamps along the wall did little to dispel the gloom. A group of warform singers gathered by the balcony, their humming growing louder. They pointed their weapons at a single figure, backed up against the opening. A human man, soaking wet and breathing heavily, his tattered shirt bloodied. He shivered, barely keeping himself upright, but he still had enough strength to raise his head and glare at the warforms that closed in on him. Venli gaped, taking in the man's shoulder length black hair and the brands on his forehead. Every human and singer in the tower knew his description. Not just a man. Stormblessed. 

Venli cringed back as the warforms surrounded him. Radiant or not, this was a hopeless fight. She looked away, not wanting to see the next part, even as the guilt surged in her. There was nothing she could do anyway. 

Suddenly, the warforms' humming went silent. Venli looked up sharply, realising she could hear nothing but the roar of the storm. The warforms shied away from the balcony, stunned. Then one one of them yelled to Appreciation, "He jumped! Into the storm!"

Venli ducked back into the hallway before they could notice her. Timbre thrummed in her gemheart to... Was that Excitement?

"What?" Venli asked, attuning the Lost almost against her will. "He's dead, Timbre. What could I do?" 

Timbre thrummed more urgently.

"What would Lady Leshwi do? It's too late." After all her careful planning, weeks and weeks of preparation. Without Stormblessed, the Radiants will never rebel, and Venli will have no chance to get her people out of the tower. Raboniel will kill every one of the unconscious Radiants eventually, and Venli will never find someone to teach her about her powers. 

Timbre thrummed to Skepticism, and Venli got the impression she meant it in more than one way.

Unless... Perhaps there was still a slim hope. The stories about Stormblessed had to come from _somewhere_.

Venli began running. 

***

Kaladin held on to the balcony railing as the wind whipped his hair and slashed at his skin. The wind hated him. It tried its best to peel his flesh from his bones, to rip his fingers apart so it could blow him away into oblivion. He buried his face in the crook of his arm, but there was no warmth to be found. So cold… 

He tried to focus on gripping the railing, but his mind kept slipping to the nightmare around him. Inside him. He was in the Shattered Plains again, chained to the barrack wall in Sadeas's warcamp as the stormwall slammed into him. Except then he wasn't so alone. 

_Syl…_

This was wrong. The sky was his. The winds were his. Urithiru was his home. To die in this place of hatred, alone… 

Kaladin felt his grip loosen, too weak to fight. Too weak to care. The gloom of the tower pressed on his mind, pounding on him almost as strongly as the storm. At least for a moment he will fly again.

No. _No_! He must fight. For the tower and the Radiants, for the queen, for Syl. He could almost feel her, far away… He couldn't let go. 

Something grabbed him by the shoulders. Something almost… warm. A musical sound that he could somehow hear over the roar of the storm. A Fuzed, he realized. So they did come after him. He should fight. He should resist. But that warmth… He was so _tired_ … 

The darkness swallowed him, and Kaladin closed his eyes and let it. 

***

Leshwi burst into her lair, the unconscious Windrunner limp in her arms. He was tall for a human, but a few inches made little difference to Leshwi. She carried him as easily as she would a sleeping child. 

She was worried for a moment out there in the storm, though. She held her fingers to the human's neck, seeking his heartbeat. Still alive. He didn't look like it. 

Her Voice - she was still Leshwi's Voice, regardless of the current arrangement with Raboniel - rushed to close the window that Leshwi entered through. Venli hummed to craving, but Leshwi ignored her as she gently laid her burden down on the blankets that Venli had prepared in her absence. 

"We will need more blankets, Voice, " Leshwi said to Command. "And a heating fabrial infused with Voidlight if you can find one. Send me a servant. I wish him to be watched and cared for day and night. " 

Venli hummed to Subservience, then changed back to Craving. 

"What?" Leshwi said to Conceit. She didn't often snap at her servants, but they needed to act quickly to make sure that the human survived. 

"Why go to such lengths to save him, Lady?" Venli asked. 

Leshwi levitated a few feet off the ground, hovering over the human. For a moment she attuned Spite, but… Well, Venli's passion was part of why Leshwi wanted her as a servant in the first place.

"There are things I would ask him, Last Listener, " Leshwi said to Craving. "And his spren as well. I doubt she will speak to me if he dies." 

Venli seemed to accept that, or perhaps decided not to push Leshwi further in the moment. She rushed to do as told, but Leshwi stopped her, holding up her hand. 

"No one must know he is here, Voice. To the rest of the tower, Stormblessed is dead. " 

Venli hummed to Subservience to indicate she understood, and left. 

Leshwi hovered down, not quite touching the ground, but low enough to inspect Stormblessed's face. His sleep was not kind to him. He stirred, his expression strained and pained. Leshwi attuned Anticipation, but though he muttered and thrashed, he did not wake. If his spren was near, she did not show herself to Leshwi. 

Humans were so careless. What drove Stormblessed to throw himself out to the storm? Did he not realise how fragile he was with his powers suppressed? How breakable his single body was? 

She brushed the hair from his forehead. Human hair, thick and soft, so different from the slick strands of a singer. Now it was snarled and dripped water, so Leshwi fetched a towel to dry it. Humans were too easy to break. The cold might kill him, if the gush in his chest won't do it first. 

Next, Leshwi gave him a sphere of Stormlight, though she doubted it would do him any good. Raboniel was getting closer and closer to her goal. That was a good thing, wasn't it? Leshwi didn't trust the Lady of Wishes, but she did seem to push for an end to this war. Too many Fuzed - those who retained some of their sanity, at least - treated the Returns like games. 

And yet she didn't want Stormblessed to die. Why was that? Leshwi had lived thousands of years and killed hundreds of his kind, so why did one human matter to her? 

She will win this war. She will give Roshar to her descendants to inherit, and she will kill every Radiant who stood in her way if she must. And yet… And yet. 

Killing the Radiants as they lay unconscious and defenseless was no triumph. When Leshwi finally killed Stormblessed, she would do so on the battlefield, while they were both in their strength. 

He sucked in the Light, and the tension in his face softened slightly. There were marks on his forehead where he had been burned. Branded. He lived such a short life - merely a blink in comparison to hers - but it had been packed full. Leshwi knew him as a soldier, an enemy, a hero, but he had once been a slave. The cruelty of humans to one another could not compare to what they did to the miserable slaveform singers, the ones they called parshmen. Yet those shook off generations of slavery when the Everstorm came, while this man was still a slave in some way. The Stormlight would have healed his scars otherwise. 

What she'd told Venli was true. Leshwi longed to speak to that ancient honorspren, if only for the slim chance that someone still remembered her dearest friends from the old days. And as much as Leshwi loathed the Fuzed who took pleasure in killing, she loved the thrill of the contest. There were few, even among the Heavenly Ones, who could challenge Leshwi. Stormblessed fought with true passion and skill. With honor. A determination born from a deep desire - not to kill, not even to win, but to protect. A part of her grieved losing such a worthy opponent. 

_I'm already thinking about him as if he is dead._ But of course, he was mortal. She will lose him eventually, perhaps sooner than later, the way the war was progressing. She would get a few more matches out of him first. 

She touched Stormblessed's forehead again. His skin burned. The stormlight did not relieve him of his pains. He thrashed, lost in feverish dreams. Leshwi attuned the Rhythm of Abashment, then Derision. She wished to see him in his strength again, not beaten and pained. 

There was another reason for bringing him here that she hadn't mentioned to Venli. She hardly admitted it even to herself. It had to do with the growing curiosity she has been feeling lately, and the questions that creeped to her mind, nagging at her. Dangerous questions. Dangerous passions. 

Leshwi drifted away and changed her wet robes into new ones. Placed in one of the highest floors of the tower, her lair was more a home to her than the official Urithiru quarters of the _shanay-im._ She liked coming so up high, keeping her favorite treasures in a place hidden away. A soft, human made robe she found while raiding Kholinar. An intricate silver medallion, shaped like a rockbud in bloom. A small leatherbound notebook, taken off the corpse of a Windrunner squire on the border of Avendla. She will lose everything at the end of the Return, but for now she allowed herself to indulge. 

Eventually Venli returned, towed by a young femalen singer who carried the heating fabrial and other supplies. Leshwi looked them over, then hummed to Satisfaction. 

"And does she know the importance of discretion, Voice?" 

"She will not leave this room, Lady, " Venli said. 

"Very well. He is to be washed daily and fed broth and Stormlight. If he wakes, fetch me immediately. And if he dies… " Leshwi stared straight at the new servant and hummed to Destruction. 

After that, Leshwi flew to the window and left. The storm had died down; her absence will be noticed soon. She will visit, she promised herself. Soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We never got a Leshwi POV and we don't know that much about her so I had to take some liberties and apply some headcanons and interpret her thought process to the best of my ability. I realised after the fact that I basically made her a dragon.  
> Comments will be appreciated! :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Leshwi takes another risk in order to keep Kaladin alive.

Venli opened the door to Leshwi's lair, struggling to catch her breath. Did her lady have to keep the Windrunner up so high? The hike up here left her winded and took up significant chunks of her time. She feared that Raboniel would soon start to pay more attention to her absences. Fortunately, the Lady of Wishes was so engrossed in her research these days that she rarely required Venli's services. That was good, since simply getting supplies up here to Shumin was dangerous. This time, Venli had to run up to the lair unexpectedly when she found her spanreed to Shumin blinking. She dared not write and leave evidence, so they agreed Shumin will only use it to get Venli in an emergency. 

Timbre pulsed to the Rhythm of Peace in Venli's gemheart, trying to calm her, but inside they found Shumin crouching near the Windrunner and humming to Anxiety. 

"What is it?" Venli demanded. 

"He's getting worse, Venli. It's that wound in his chest. The Stormlight isn't healing him fast enough, and I can't get that fever down." 

The human thrashed in his sleep, sweat soaking his tousled blankets. 

"He needs a surgeon, " Venli said. She should probably have gotten him a surgeon right away, but she worried about involving another human in the secret. Especially since the only human surgeon she had in mind was Stormblessed's own father.

Over the last few days, Venli did her best to avoid Rlain and the Radiant clinic. She knew that Stormblessed's friends and family didn't believe he was dead - the man had an odd reputation - but she did sense their growing anxiety whenever she was near them. Venli didn't trust herself to keep the secret. 

She joined Shumin and knelt by Stormblessed's side. He muttered in his sleep between rugged breaths. Shumin dubbed at the sweat that dripped down the side of his face with a rag, her own face twisted into a grimace that seemed far too human. Venli was proud of her idea to assign Shumin this task, where she could be isolated and out of her way but still put her eagerness to good use. 

"Can you get a surgeon? " Shumin asked. "Do you think it would help?" 

Venli hushed her and leaned closer to listen to Stormblessed's muttering. It was the delirious mumbling of a man lost in a nightmare, the words slurred and chopped, but Venli's envoyform powers allowed her to understand. She heard names and apologies, pleading and grief, all wrapped in something deeply, achingly familiar. Guilt. It struck Venli like a slap, mirroring the emotions she worked so hard to bury inside her. She flinched, sitting back on her heels. Guilt, from him? A full Radiant? A man with the reputation of a hero? 

Timbre pulsed to a consoling Rhythm inside her, and Venli forced herself to straighten her back and attune Derision. He was a human. He  _ should _ feel ashamed for what his people had done to hers. 

Timbre thrummed to Skepticism, but before Venli could argue back, the window opened and Leshwi floated into the room. Venli and Shumin scrambled to their feet to bow to her, but as soon as she noticed the human's state, she let out a low hiss and flewto his side.

"I know little of human ailments, mistress, " Venli said to Agony. "But unless a surgeon sees him soon, his state will continue to deteriorate." 

Leshwi hummed to Fury, though Venli's powers told her that the lady's anger wasn't directed at her and Shumin. She watched Stormblessed for a long moment, then ordered them to wait and left the same way she arrived. 

  
  


She returned after half an hour that Venli spent suffering Shumin's complaints and reassuring her that her work had a greater purpose than to keep a single human alive. Leshwi floated in, carrying another human - Lirin, the Surgeon. She lowered him to the floor and levitated back up. Lirin wobbled for a moment before regaining his balance, his face nearly as pale as his son's. He looked around the room and his gaze lingered on Venli. Then he saw his son. 

Winds, humans were so  _ obvious _ . Lirin's eyes widened, but he quickly set his jaw and put on a calm show. But the tension in his shoulders could not be mistaken; only sheer determination kept him from leaping to Stormblessed's side. He turned back to Leshwi who hovered behind him, bowed, and said in an emotionless voice, "May I examine him, Ancient One?" 

Leshwi hummed, and Venli Voiced for her. "Get to work, human, and listen while you do. You must not speak of what you've seen in this chamber, for you might bring death upon Stormblessed and yourself. If asked, you are to say that you were taken for interrogation. Understood?" 

Lirin looked up and met Venli's eyes. "Very well, as long as I can care for him. But I must tell my wife. She  _ will  _ kill me for not telling her that her son is alive. " 

Venli reluctantly translated for her mistress, who's grasp of modern Alethi was poor. Leshwi cocked her head, then hummed to Satisfaction.

"The lady says it is… expected, of the mother of Stormblessed. " 

"That name, " Lirin muttered, opening the medical pack he brought with him. He washed his hands in the bowl Shumin provided before kneeling by his son’s side. He checked the younger man's pulse, eyes, and finally unwrapped the bandages on his chest. There was a methodical rhythm to his motions that almost synced itself to the Rhythm of Resolve. 

Leshwi hovered closer, her head still cocked as she watched the work curiously.

"Have you tried Stormlight?" Lirin asked, applying a stingy smelling sap to the wound. 

"Radiant healing doesn't work in the tower as well as it used to, " Venli said. 

"Then we should get him out, " Lirin said, his voice still level and calm. 

"The lady commends your passion, surgeon, " Venli Voiced. "But this is unacceptable. Removing him from the tower will cross a line that we are not willing to breach. " 

Lirin took a deep breath. "There's not… much I can do for him. If I operate, Kaladin will require extended care. " 

"Would you prefer him to be transferred to the Radiant clinic? Handed to the rest of the Fuzed? " Venli stepped closer. "The Pursuer will not hold back, if given such an easy opportunity. " 

Lirin inhaled again and kept working. "What if you flew him down to the mountains, just for a little while, to help him heal?"

"You have been told - " Venli started, but Leshwi held up her palm to quiet her.

"Is this the only way, human?" Leshwi said to Craving in a deeply accented voice. 

Lirin met her eyes and nodded. 

Leshwi landed and picked the unconscious Windrunner in her arms again. "Stormlight." 

"Careful!" Lirin cried out, adjusting the way Leshwi carried his son. Surprisingly, she allowed it. "Please, Ancient One. "

Venli and Shumin gathered as many Stormlight spheres as they could find into a pouch that Leshwi usually used to carry her Voidlight. Timbre pulsed to Praise, and Venli silently shushed her. Leshwi performed a great kindness for this human, taking an immense risk upon herself to save his life. Still, Venli could not tell her mistress about her Radiant bond. She just couldn't. 

"If he wakes into his powers and tries to escape, " Leshwi said through Venli, "I  _ will _ have to kill him." 

Lirin hung his head. "Heralds know this boy never listens to me anymore. Let us hope he will have the common sense not to do anything stupid when he wakes. "

With this, Leshwi leapt out through the window. 

*** 

" _ Breathe."  _

Kaladin jolted awake. In the sky again. He was  _ in the sky _ , and the wind… the wind was calm around him. Not hateful, not adoring, just calm. Cold mountain air. Stormlight in his veins.

"Syl?" He tried to call out, but his voice was little more than a raspy croak. He couldn't feel her. Then, with a panic, he realized that he wasn't lashing himself. He tried to, but the surge resisted him. But he was flying, floating, he was - 

Kaladin looked up and saw a face of red and white and black, adorned with a carapace helm. He flinched, but she held him. 

"Breathe, Stormblessed. Heal." 

His Stormlight ran out then, and a deep exhaustion washed over him. His panic grew as he realized just how defenseless he was. This was worse than a bridge run, worse than hanging out in the storm. He knew instinctively that trying to get away will only get him to fall to his death.

"Calm, now. " That voice, deep and musical. They soared up. Kaladin felt the pressure on his mind return, making it hard to think. To fight. His vision bled to black. He shivered and curled into the warmth that wrapped around him, falling asleep. 

***

Leshwi dropped off the surgeon in the Radiant clinic window. Stormblessed was sleeping somewhat peacefully in her lair now, and Lirin finally agreed to leave after seeing for himself that his son was going to survive. 

Leshwi hovered out of the window, trying not to catch the attention of the stormform guards. 

"Thank you, Ancient One, " Lirin said, bowing.

Leshwi turned to leave, but the short man shockingly grabbed her arm. "Please, Ancient One. Why help us?" 

Leshwi hummed to Fury and shook him off. The Surgeon's wife was approaching, her brow furrowed with worry. Leshwi caught a glance at the interior of the clinic behind her, where humans knelt by the unconscious Radiants, tending them. Many had a familiar mark painted on their foreheads. 

"Beware of watching voidspren, " Leshwi said and took off. 

She zipped up to her lair. Perhaps she has been spending too much of her time there recently, but she hardly regretted neglecting the busywork Raboniel had assigned to her and the other Heavenly Ones to keep them from interfering. Stormblessed would wake before too long, and Leshwi worried for the safety of her servants when he did. She already instructed them to remove all Stormlight from the room. 

Floating into the room, Leshwi landed next to the sleeping Windrunner. Yes, he breathed easier now. Venli hummed to Craving, perhaps surprised to see Leshwi back so soon. Leshwi waved for her to approach. 

"Lady?"

"The marks on his forehead, Voice. Translate for me. " 

"They are the brands of an Alethi slave, mistress." 

"But what do they  _ say?"' _

Leshwi wasn't sure where her interest originated. Was it the oddity of humans writing on each other's faces, like a sorry approximation of the skin patterns of singers? Or was it the curiosity of a Radiant with scars that didn't heal?

"The first pair reads  _ sas-nahn _ , " Venli said. "I think it's the place where he was branded. Perhaps the Sadeas princedom." 

"Northern Avendla, " Leshwi mused. "Go on." 

"The third glyph reads  _ shash _ . Dangerous. " 

"I have heard of this, " Leshwi said to Satisfaction. "Men tell stories of him. Nearly as mythical as a Fuzed..." 

Or perhaps Leshwi's interest stemmed specifically from him. If she traced the scars of his history, she could understand the flames that forged him. 

Leshwi touched the  _ shash  _ glyph again, feeling the rough, burned skin with the tips of her fingers. 

He stirred under her. Venli flinched, and Leshwi sent her and Shumin to stand by the door. She hummed to Anticipation. 

Kaladin's eyes fluttered open. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another one of my headcanons is that Leshwi doesn't speak Alethi very well, which explains why she doesn't speak to Kaladin during most of their fights. Venli is overstating it a little - Leshwi can ususally understand and communicate in Alethi, but she's not comfortable with the language.


	3. Chapter 3

Kaladin awoke somewhere warm, his mind still clouded with the fog of his dreams. His  _ terrible _ dreams. Screams and burning flesh, his friends dying. His father with blood frothing from his mouth as he demanded to know why Kaladin failed to bring Tien home. For a moment the nightmare still enveloped him. Then his vision cleared and he tensed, sitting up and grasping for a spear that wasn't there. 

A Fuzed rose into the air in front of him, the long train of her robes twisting in flight. Leshwi, he realized. She hummed in a low tone, staring at him with ruby eyes. 

Kaladin scrambled to his feet, but he couldn't fight a Fuzed without a weapon, could he? He reached for Syl with his mind, but he couldn't find her. No Stormlight either. Storms, how was he still alive? 

He forced himself to adopt a battle stance anyway, even though his body wanted nothing more than to lay back down. His eyes darted around the room, noting two singers by the door and a wide window. He was still in Urithiru, based on the marbled walls and the pressure on his mind. How high up? Could he run for the window? 

Leshwi floated down and, amazingly, rested a hand on his shoulder. Kaladin tensed, but she did not strike him. 

"Calm, Stormblessed, " she said. Then she cocked her head and spoke very slowly, as if trying the word for the first time. " _ Kaladin.  _ "

He started, confused. Exhaustion spren shot into the air around him. Storms, his head… 

"What do you want?" He asked, his voice a raspy whisper. 

Leshwi spoke in a language he didn't understand, and one of the singers by the door - a femalen Regal - stepped forward and translated. 

"Lady Leshwi saved your life and graced you with her favor, Windrunner. Gratitude is due. " 

"Where is my spren?" 

"We do not know, " the Regal translated. "The Lady wishes to - " 

"Storms, let go of me!" Kaladin tried to dash for the door, but Leshwi's grip on his shoulder was firm, if somewhat gentle. Kaladin’s legs hardly supported him, as if he hadn’t used them in so long they forgot how to stand. Leshwi pressed his shoulder until he was forced to sit back down. He had faint memories of moments between dreams, jolts of power as he lay in the skies. Now he was trapped again. Was Syl roaming the tower somewhere, mindless as a windspren? Did the Fuzed find the last node? And how was he still alive?

_ I always live… _

"We do not wish to harm you, " the Regal translated. Then, in a hesitant voice, she added, "I am a friend of Rlain. Venli." 

Kaladin looked up sharply. "Rlain? Is he well?" 

"He survives. So does your family, thanks to the Lady's protection. " 

Leshwi hummed, and the other singer brought Kaladin a cup of water. He stared at it suspiciously for a moment, but they could have killed him ten times over already, and his throat was parched. He drained the cup with a gulp and tried to wipe his mouth with his sleeve, except he had no sleeve. Storms, he wore only a bandage wrapped around his chest and a loose skirt like garment that covered him down to his knees. Probably an improvised substitute for a hospital robe. 

He grimaced and handed back the cup for a refill, too bewildered to think of a way to use it as a weapon. "How long have I been asleep?" 

"Nearly four days." 

"The tower?"

"Unchanged." 

Storms, Kaladin felt weak. He hated feeling so defenseless. Useless. Navani was on her own, unable to reach the rest of the tower without him. 

"You seem forlorn, " The Regal, Venli, translated. "Are you not glad that your friends are safe, Stormblessed?" 

"They're hardly safe, " Kaladin muttered. 

A heating fabrial glowed with Voidlight in the corner, powerful enough that Kaladin didn't feel cold. He wanted to cling to it until it burned him. The Fuzed were close to finding the last node. Kaladin could feel it, as surely as he felt the oppressive gloom of the tower on his mind. Every moment Kaladin wasted here brought the Sibling's shield closer to collapsing. It took all he had not to bury his head in his hands. 

"Do you doubt that they would have died days ago at the hand of the Pursuer if not for Lady Leshwi's intervention?" Venli said to a scolding Rhythm. 

"I… " Kaladin had to admit that even though his loved ones could never truly be safe under Fuzed occupation, the fact that they were still alive after what he'd done was something to be grateful for. He turned to Leshwi. "Thank you. " 

Leshwi remained uncomfortably close, so Kaladin pulled a blanket over himself. In his days of slavery he was forced to learn to not be bashful, but without weapon or Stormlight he felt terribly vulnerable. He prodded at his chest. His stab wound from the well had mostly healed, leaving only a jagged scar. 

He needed a plan. Find a way out of this room, then find Syl and go check on Teft and Dabbid. Could he contact Navani somehow? If he found one of the Sibling's garnet veins, will he be able to speak without Leshwi and the others noticing?

He needed to understand exactly where he stood. Leshwi didn't seem inclined to attack him, so…

"Why did you bring me here?" 

Leshwi spoke, and Venli translated. "You were not supposed to survive jumping into the storm. The majority of the tower thinks you're dead. It would be wise, for your safety, to keep it that way."

"The majority?"

"Your father knows. " Venli changed into a harsher, more violent beat. "So I suppose your mother and Rlain know as well. " 

Kaladin nodded. "How do you know Rlain? I thought all the other listeners died. " 

Venli actually flinched. 

"Go, Venli, " Leshwi said in heavily accented Alethi. "Take Shumin and fetch food and clothing for Stormblessed." 

Kaladin sat up straighter. "Will you give my parents a message from me?" 

Leshwi nodded, allowing it. 

"Tell them that I'm awake and well, " Kaladin said, thinking carefully. He might not have another chance like that. "And that Honor will guide them well." 

He gritted his teeth. Was that too obvious? Hopefully his mother won't cringe at his crude wordplay  _ too much _ . 

Venli and the other singer left and locked the door. 

"I don't mean to be ungrateful, " Kaladin said, adjusting his blanket, "but just how long do you intend to keep me here?" 

"As needed, " Leshwi said. "Until the Lady of Wishes withdraws." 

"And then?" 

Leshwi hovered, sitting in the air and humming contemplatively. 

"You mean, " Kaladin said flatly, "until the war is won, the Sibling corrupted, and the rest of the Radiants are dead." 

Leshwi hummed to an upbeat rhythm. 

"You realise that I can't have that, " Kaladin said, his voice rising. 

"When it is done we shall fight, " Leshwi said. Storms, she looked  _ cheerful. _

"I thought you said you didn't want to hurt me." 

"I wish for a fair fight."

"This  _ war _ isn't a fair fight if I can't help my side!"

Leshwi seemed confused at his outburst. She hummed a different Rhythm. "I have lived a long life, Kaladin." 

"You're a Fuzed, " he said, not sure what it had to do with anything. 

"You learn… to care… for what you can control. The war will be fought. It is not for me to decide. I care to… to save those I can. " She switched to a slow, mournful Rhythm. "And our dignity, where I can." 

"Dignity? What dignity is there in killing unconscious Radiants?" 

Leshwi's humming turned angry, violent. It probably wasn't a good idea to push her when he was in her power. For a moment Kaladin thought she was going to attack him. Instead she seemed to be fighting with herself - as if she was forcing herself to hum to a calmer Rhythm. Then, without a word, she flew to the window, threw it open and soared away. 

Kaladin threw himself to his feet. Could he kick the door open? No, the hinges were melded into the stone. Could he maybe use the heating fabrial to melt the lock? He feared that would only get him even more stuck. Then he found a thin line of red in the marble right below the door. It seemed dull. He pressed his hand to the stone.  _ Come on... _

"Sibling?" He said. There was no answer. "Sibling, can you hear me? Brightness Navani?" 

He heard a soft whimper in his mind. "I am dying… " 

"Sibling, please! Can you connect me to Navani?" 

"They are... listening, " the Sibling said. "Do not… speak… to me…"

"Please. I'm sorry. I can't help you if I'm stuck here." 

"Do not… speak… " the faint voice was strained. "I… will try. " 

The Sibling went quiet and Kaladin stopped prodding.  _ They are listening. _ Well, at least it explained how the Pursuer knew to wait for him at the well. He checked the still open window, which let in a steady stream of frigid air. Looking down, Kaladin almost felt like he was flying. This room must be in one of the highest floors of the tower. He stretched out his hand and it came back covered with a thin layer of melting frost. What was he thinking? Even a jump from the lower levels of Urithiru was insurvivable without Stormlight. He didn't even have Navani's fabrial anymore. 

Another storming cage. 

He stared out for a long moment, then set himself to searching the room, wearing his blanket like a cloak. He soon began to shiver despite the heat that radiated from the fabrial, but couldn't bring himself to close the window. The tower still weighed on his mind; he needed a reminder of the open sky. No sign of his old clothes; those were probably shredded in the storm. Except for a few medical supplies, the room was filled with a strange assortment of seemingly random… trinkets? He found bits of discarded jewelry, a couple of wooden playing cards missing the rest of their set, a thick brush pen. Kaladin picked up a silvery skewer with a handle shaped like a skyeel. Storming lighteyes had to decorate even their eating utensils. He kept it anyway; it was the closest thing he had to a weapon. 

And if he had a weapon, what would he do? Wait for the singers to return and attack the moment the door was unlocked? 

Kill those who saved his life? A friend of Rlain? 

_ Stop it, _ he thought forcefully. He was practically a war prisoner, wasn't he? Leshwi held him in this room against his will. Except… this was a secret she was hiding from the rest of the Fuzed. Insubordination, among the servants of Odium? There was something there, something he could use if it weren't so hard to think. He wished Syl were with him. Maybe she could help him pierce through the fog in his mind, distinguish the truth from the shadows. Barring that, at least he wouldn't feel so alone. 

The view from the window darkened as the sun set, leaving Kaladin in near darkness. He pushed himself to keep sorting through the collection of mostly useless and seemingly unrelated items. It was something to do, and doing was better than thinking for now.

Thinking was dangerous. 

Thinking will put him back in the head of the slave.

So when Venli and Shumin returned with food and clothing for him, Kaladin was too exhausted to even consider pushing his way out.

Shumin frowned as she walked straight to the window and shut it closed. "The cold will make you sick!"

Venli carried an oil lamp, obviously not daring to come near Kaladin with Stormlight. 

"Did you speak to my parents?" He asked her.

"I did. They asked to tell you to be careful, and to give you this. " She handed him a scrap of paper with a single glyph on it, written by his mother's practiced hand.  _ Home. _

"Thank you. " It worked. Finally, something he did  _ worked _ . Knowing that Syl was safe with his parents pushed back the gloom a little. He wasn't sure if the enemy could actually do anything to harm her, but he hated the thought of her fleeting mindlessly and alone in the tower. "Will you - "

"I will not deliver any more messages, " Venli said to a more forceful Rhythm. "I do not work for you, Stormblessed. " 

"Leshwi said - " 

"The Lady was kind. We've risked ourselves enough for your sake." 

Kaladin felt a spike of anger at that, but decided not to push her. Communicating with his parents too often will probably just endanger them. 

"Do you need anything else?" Venli said.

Kaladin eyed her lamp. The gemstone in the heating fabrial was huge, but Voidlight did little to illuminate the room. She hummed in annoyance, but left the lamp on the floor before gathering Shumin and leaving. They locked the door. 

Kaladin put on the simple trousers and buttoned shirt they supplied, feeling a little more human with every button he closed. No shoes, but that was expected. A part of him wished for the familiarity of a uniform that perhaps he didn't deserve to wear anymore.

_ Stop it, _ he told himself forcefully.  _ Focus on finding a way out of here.  _

Once dressed, Kaladin attacked his meal. Storms, he hadn't realized how hungry he was. He still felt weak and wrung out, but another night of nightmares didn't sound very refreshing. He started drooping anyway. At least he wouldn't have to spend the night in darkness. 

Tomorrow. Tomorrow he will find a way out. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can have some Hesina. As a treat.

Hesina plucked a length of cloth from where it hung to dry on a wire by the window, trying very hard not to hum as she worked. She was supposed to be grieving; it wouldn't do for her to appear cheerful. 

Of course, she  _ was  _ grieving. Every day. The loss of a child was not something you could just shake off with time. But you could choose to live on. 

A year ago Hesina found out that one of her children survived. Yes, he had changed, and yes, a part of her still wanted to fall to the ground and curl up whenever Tien crossed her mind. But Hesina still had responsibilities; she had a husband, two sons and an entire town that needed her support. Most of all, Hesina refused to give up on herself. She has spent almost a week tensed up, keeping herself busy in the clinic so she wouldn't have a chance to break down as the rumors trickled in. People hushed their voices around her, but Hesina still heard how Kaladin was seen locked inside the well in the market as the Fuzed piled frightened humans on the lid to block his escape. She had heard guilty voices describing how they heard him pound the lid underneath them until his panicked blows ceased. Some even said he threw himself out to the highstormַ, like a man seeking death. Hesina shook her head as the images in her mind threatened to make her shudder. Earlier today Lirin returned with confirmation that Kaladin was alive. Soon after that, Venli came to them with a message from him. So Hesina felt a little braver today. 

Just as she folded the last piece of cloth - meant to be cut later into smaller bandages - Hesina felt a light touch on her arm. 

"He fell asleep, " said Tala, a soft-spoken town's girl who has been watching over Oroden this evening. 

"Thank you, Tala. " Hesina gave her a small smile. "Have your father come by tomorrow. Lirin wanted to take another look at his leg, to make sure the rotspren are gone for good. " 

Lirin wasn't supposed to see regular patients anymore; his job now was to take care of the fallen Radiants. But Hesina couldn't blame her husband for stubbornly caring even about those who were no longer technically his responsibility. It was a family trait. 

Tala nodded, squeezed Hesina's arm and mouthed a quiet good night. Hesina watched her leave, thoughtful. Sometimes it was hard to believe the kindness the people of Hearthstone showed her family. She didn't think they ever truly hated them, but she remembered years of resentment and poverty, when her family had been ostracized and struggled to survive. She remembered the effort it took to paste on an optimistic face when all she wanted to do was hurl that damned goblet of stolen spheres down the street. The frustration of those days seemed dull next to the wreck Hesina had been after Kaladin and Tien were taken, when the haze of loss and pain suffocated her home. Amazingly, those worst days of her life were when the town finally began to see Hesina and Lirin in a new light. And as the blows kept coming - first the letter about Tien's death, then the lie about Kaladin's - the community galvanized around them, providing support and expressing gratitude years overdue. Roshone didn't particularly like it, but after beating them down, he was no longer inclined to fight them and drive away his town's only surgeon. By the time they had Oroden, Hesina could almost forget the old, terrible days. Almost. 

She was grateful for the town's support and acceptance. In many ways they had saved her. And Tala couldn't have been older than six when Hesina's boys were conscripted. Her feelings made no sense, but… well, it wasn't that Hesina didn't trust the town's people. A part of her was just always on watch, waiting for the next blow. Waiting for the thunder to follow the lightning. 

_ I'm just tired, _ she told herself. It had been an eventful day.

The clinic grew quiet as most of the volunteers left for the night and only a couple of ardents remained. As always, a pair of stormform Regals stood watch by the door, but at least Hesina, Lirin and Oroden had a semblance of privacy in their sectioned off living area at the back. Hesina packed her neatly folded bandages into a bin and made her way there. She found her husband kneeling and staring, brows furrowed, at a vase full of glowing spheres. 

"Still troubled?" She asked quietly, resting a hand on his shoulder. Oroden was sound asleep in their bedroll. 

"How could I not be?"

"He's  _ alive, _ Lirin. " Storms, she should probably burn a glyphward before going to sleep. 

Lirin remained quiet, watching the light shift inside the vase. Hesina sat down next to him, following the glowing ribbon of blue-white light that zipped about among the spheres with her eyes. It wrenched Hesina's heart to keep her locked like that, but they couldn't risk losing Syl again. At least here her light would not stand out. In the few hours since Hesina found her by the well in the market, their attempts to speak to Syl proved fruitless. Away from Kaladin she became mindless and childlike. Hesina  _ did _ think she recognized them, but she could never stay focused long enough for it to matter. 

"We should find a way to get her to him, " Hesina whispered. 

"Impossible, " Lirin said, grimacing. "They won't take me to him, now that he's awake. " 

She squeezed his hand. "Rlain isn't sure if we can trust Venli. But I think that Fuzed really wants to keep him alive… " 

He gave her a suffering look. "I couldn't  _ do _ anything for him, Hesina. "

"He is alive and awake, " she said. "This should be enough for now. " 

"Not thanks to me. " 

"You convinced her to take him out of the tower so he could heal. You saved his life. " 

"And now what? They still have him, and they won't take me to him anymore. Storms, I fear more for him now that he is awake. What if he does something stupid? What if he - " 

Hesina shook her head, quieting him. "He will be careful. He's a clever young man. " 

"He is hot headed, " Lirin said. "He will try to run or fight. I know he will." 

"Maybe. " She knew her son well enough to recognize that Lirin had a point. It was probably driving Kaladin mad to be locked away in the clutches of the enemy while the rest of the tower fought on. "But that Fuzed, Leshwi, she took great risks to save him. Whatever it is she wants with Kaladin, I don't think she will let him die so easily. " 

"Not even by his own foolishness? "

"Kaladin isn't foolish. He just… cares. " She smiled tiredly, glancing at Lirin. Then she noticed the vase. Syl had shifted into the form of a young woman and was watching them with a curious expression, her head cocked to the side.

"Sylphrena?" Hesina whispered, leaning closer. "Did you hear Kaladin's name?" 

"I… " Syl pressed her hand to the glass. "I think… "

Hesina held her breath. 

"I… know… " 

"Please, Syl. He needs you. We need you. " 

"I remember… " Syl glanced away, then giggled, zipping off as a ribbon of light to dance among the spheres. 

Hesina sighed and stood up. "Let's go to sleep. We'll try to find out more tomorrow. " 

***

Someone was watching Kaladin. He somehow knew it before he opened his eyes. He sat up, trying to banish his grogginess, and sure enough Leshwi was there, hovering next to him with her legs folded underneath her. Kaladin grimaced. He didn't expect to be given privacy in captivity, but did she have to just sit there? 

"You are awake, " she said. 

"I am. "  _ Barely.  _ Kaladin didn't feel rested at all. His nightmare didn't linger as much this time, but he could still feel its vicious echoes.  _ You can't save them… _

He rubbed his forehead as if he could scrub Moash's voice from his mind. Standing up, he glanced at Leshwi. "Do you mind?" 

She hummed, then flew to the window, allowing him to use the chamberpot, wash his face and stretch. He still felt a little weak, but by the time Leshwi returned his mind felt clearer. 

"Do you have all that you need?" Leshwi asked him. 

Kaladin scowled at her. "I  _ need  _ to get out of here." 

Leshwi hummed, amused. 

Well, he didn't actually expect her to just let him go. "Food?" 

"Soon, " Leshwi said.

Kaladin grunted. Being near her with no weapon or Stormlight still put him on edge. What did she want from him?

"My Voice claims the essai served you, " Leshwi said. 

"The… What?" Nothing in that sentence made sense to Kaladin. 

"The other Listener, " Leshwi clarified. "The one named Rlain, the traitor. " 

"What about him?" Kaladin said, suddenly defensive. Rlain was no traitor. He never belonged to Leshwi's people. 

"You trusted him. Armed him. Why?" 

Kaladin folded his arms. "Rlain is my friend." 

She hummed thoughtfully for a long moment. " _ Friend _ . " 

"Yes, he is. Why do you care?" When she didn't answer, Kaladin took a step towards her. "Is he alright?" 

"You fought his people, " Leshwi said. "And yet you call him friend. "

"He's Bridge Four, " Kaladin said, feeling darkness creep into his voice. "We take care of our own." 

Leshwi touched her shoulder, where a human soldier would wear an insignia patch. "Bridge Four? Windrunners?" 

"Yes… but it's more than that. " Kaladin shook himself, going quiet. What was he doing, explaining their unit structure to a Fuzed?

Leshwi must have noticed his resignation, because she floated down, landing next to him with a soft step. "Rlain is no Windrunner."

Kaladin didn't say anything. 

"And yet he is among you… Bridge Four. A Connection between you. Fascinating…" 

"What is that supposed to mean?" 

"I have not seen such a thing in all my Returns. It made questions. " 

The door opened and Shumin came in, puffing from exertion and bearing a tray of food. 

"I will think upon these questions, " Leshwi said, rising into the air again and floating to the window. "Perhaps you should too. " 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading this far! I'm trying to make the process of Leshwi switching sides very slow and gradual, I hope it's still interesting. Once again comments will be appreciated :)


	5. Chapter 5

High at the top of the tower, Leshwi could pretend that she was free. She stood on the ledge of the roof, staring out towards the mountains. The wind caressed her hair and the tassels of her long robes. She watched the windspren dancing on the currents and hummed softly to Longing. How she’d missed having a body. How she’d missed Roshar. The war will be over soon, and she will lose it all again - either to go back to Braize until the next Return, or, if they finally won… She wasn’t sure what would happen to her in this case, and it terrified her. But she knew that whatever would come was preferable to the agony of this endless war. Like many of her kind, Leshwi was tired. The only thing she truly feared was that one day she will have nothing left to give. Millenia of fighting could squeeze a soul dry. She needed to remember her true goal, the purpose of this war they were fighting; to give the singers a world worth living in. If Leshwi had to die, truly and permanently, to achieve this, then so be it.   
In the meantime, she enjoyed the small pleasures of being alive.  
Raboniel had canceled the order that restricted any singer or Fuzed from lingering outside of the tower. By now they had little doubt that Dalinar Kholin and his coalition were aware that Urithiru had been occupied, so there was no need to hide their presence anymore. Leshwi was free to stand at the top of the tower and think. When the time for that grew short, she leapt off and flew down a few floors to the window of her lair.  
Shumin rushed forward to open the window for her. The young femalen was used to surprise visits from Leshwi by now. Gliding in, Leshwi scanned the room with her gaze and found Stormblessed leaning against the opposite wall. He looked better than the previous time she’d visited - more solid and awake. Soon his body will recover completely from his wounds. Leshwi felt a pang of regret at that, and hummed to Conceit to cover it up. The Windrunner watched her expectantly as she hovered above him, but Leshwi didn’t feel inclined to speak just yet. Venli was not here, and summoning her will take too long. She would have to make do without a Voice.   
“I bet I could leave, if I had Stormlight, “ Stormblessed said quietly. His eyes were trained on the window that Shumin had just shut closed. “I could jump and let myself fall until I was out of the tower’s range. Then I could fly. “  
“Humans do not fly, “ Leshwi said to Derision. “You are not of the Heavens.”   
“Fall. It doesn’t matter. I’ll be out of here. “ He started pacing, perhaps to put some distance between them.   
Leshwi hummed to Ridicule. Stormblessed seemed to understand the meaning of the Rhythm, for he stopped his pacing to glare at her with eyes that had turned a dark brown. “What?”   
“You might run, “ Leshwi said. “You might get away. But you won’t abandon the tower. It is not in your nature. “   
“What would you know of my nature?”   
Leshwi knew enough about humans after so many thousands of years fighting them. She knew their strategy patterns and how quickly they formed prejudices; she knew they were prone to fixate on the meaningless and ignore the crucial. She knew they clung to Roshar with a tenacity that somehow defied even the natural advantages of the singers. She knew not to underestimate them. But knowing the nature of humans was one thing. Did she know him?  
“Nothing, “ he snapped when her only response was a low hum.   
“If you leave, Windrunner, “ Leshwi said slowly, trying to shape the Alethi words as clearly as she could in her mouth, “If you leave, your life will be forfeit. The Pursuer is after your blood, and the Lady of Wishes is losing her patience. There will be nothing I can do to help you. “   
Because he was leaving, wasn’t he? Stormlight or not, she could see the intention all over him. How the decision tore him apart. Certainly she could stop him, if it came to that, but at what price?   
“Listen, Kaladin - “   
But he was already striding towards the window, arms outstretched to throw it open. Shumin squeaked at the back of the room, but neither of them turned to her.   
“And now what?” Leshwi said to Ridicule, despite herself. “Will you fall to your death to prove a point?”   
“Not to prove a point, “ he said quietly. “To not be a traitor. “  
“You are exaggerating, Stormblessed. It is understandable, given that human minds respond erratically to - “   
“No!” He turned back to her, eyes wide and intense. The wordless anger in them…   
Leshwi usually found human emotions evasive; without Rhythms to express their feelings, humans could trick those around them, twisting the features on their faces to create whatever mask they wanted to present at the moment. But this one wore his frustration clear as a sunrise after a storm. Leshwi realized with growing astonishment that she recognized the restlessness in his steps, the tension of his crossed arms, the set of his jaw. She had felt it herself. Spending his days locked in the lair was as painful for him as Leshwi’s prison in Braize had been for her. She felt a strange kinship to him - a shared longing for the sky.   
“You waited, “ Leshwi said, the thought crystalizing in her mind faster than the language could follow. “You could have jumped hours ago. In the night, when no one could see you.“  
He gripped the windowsill, knuckles growing white. Now that she knew what to look for, Leshwi could see his shoulders trembling. She could see how tired his eyes were behind the resentment that held him up.  
She drifted down. “You waited for me to be here. “   
He stared in silence out to the mountains, to that endless fall.   
“Did you hope I will catch you again? Or that I will convince you to stay?”  
He shrugged, perhaps to still himself, and shook his head. Then he plied his fingers from the windowsill and straightened up. “My family?”  
“Unchanged. “ She closed the window, glad to shut away the image of him plunging down in the night. “Have you given thought to what I asked you?”   
Kaladin crossed his arms again. They had this conversation multiple times, but he didn’t seem to grow tired of humoring her. Both of them could use the distraction. “Rlain is Bridge Four. He earned my trust. “   
“So why shouldn’t any other singer?”  
“We are at war. “  
“You have fought other humans before. You have fought fellow Alethi. “  
“Strangers, mostly. Rlain has been with us since Sadeas’ army. We have history. “  
“History is but a matter of time, “ Leshwi mused. “And not everyone in Bridge four has been with you so long. Some of your Windrunners were recruited during this Return; technically, you have known me for longer. “   
Kaladin frowned. She knew he regretted letting details like that slip. He was concerned about giving away information. She hummed to Ridicule. Did he think she hadn’t noticed the newer Windrunners when she fought them on the battlefield? But of course, the two of them tended to get so caught up in their own matches that the rest of the fighting disappeared.   
“As an enemy commander, “ Kaladin said, his frown deepening.  
“We are soldiers, Kaladin, “ Leshwi said, still amused. “We learn to know each other best by the way we fight.”  
He seemed to truly consider it. “Some men you only learn to know once they become your enemies. “  
“You’ve been betrayed, “ Leshwi said, reaching for the scars on his forehead. He ducked his head back, but she already withdrew her hand. She still didn’t understand why he wanted to keep a distance between them when he had never cared about getting close to her in a fight, but she respected his reservations.   
“Many times, “ Kaladin said. “You say we understand each other by the way we fight. I taught a man to fight, but I still didn’t truly know him until he turned on me. Or perhaps I didn’t want to see. “   
“A Windrunner? “ Leshwi cocked her head to the side. “Or… Bridge Four? “ He shook his head, but it seemed obvious now. “Vyre. “  
“Is that what you call him?” he sneered, hands curling into fists.   
“He is a fascinating creature, “ Leshwi said. “Troubling. Some thought he would become a bridge. A human favored by Odium. But he is becoming something new, unlike a human or a singer. Something dangerous. “   
“Yes, “ Kaladin said, suddenly very quiet. “Dangerous. “  
“His betrayal was painful to you.”   
“I can only blame myself, “ Kaladin said. “He… was Bridge Four. My responsibility. “   
“He still bears the ink mark on his shoulder, almost like a skin pattern, “ Leshwi said. “Is he not Bridge Four anymore?”  
“I don’t know. He shouldn’t be, but he is. “ He shook his head again. “I should hate him, but…”  
“But you taught him to fight, “ Leshwi said, understanding. “And you taught him yourself. And he taught you, too. “   
“And he threw it all down a chasm, “ Kaladin said bitterly.   
“He speaks of you often, “ Leshwi said, remembering the council in Kholinar. “He still respects you. “  
“He wants me dead. “   
“He is not the only one. “   
“But you at least bother fighting me. Moash wants me to do it myself. “ He looked away. “I… I never told that to anyone. “   
“Perhaps he is afraid of you, “ Leshwi said. “Of what you might remind him. “  
They spent a short while in pensive silence before Leshwi said, “You are wrong about one thing, Kaladin Stormblessed. “   
He raised an eyebrow. “And that is?”   
“That I want you dead. “ She glanced back at him as she glided towards the window. “You should know that I hate wasting a good challenge. “

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been so long and this chapter is so short but idk I've been wanting to get back to posting (and writing, rip) for a long time now and this felt like a good point to end the chapter, you know?  
> Leshwi is so fun to write! I can't wait for book 5 to come out and bust/ confirm all my headcanons about her.   
> Thank you so much if you're still reading and as always, I'd love to know what you think♥


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